Key Terms
Terms to Study – Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide Unit 1 – Introduction to Healthcare · Aphasia – A brain injury that impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing · Abuse – the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish · Neglect – Failure to provide goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm or mental anguish · Ethics – standards of behavior developed by a person’s concept of right and wrong · Exploitation – Illegal use of vulnerable adult’s property or personal items Unit 2 – Basic Human Needs · Cognitive / Cognition – Intellectual process that includes thought, awareness and the ability to understand · Ethnicity – Special groups within a race sharing social customs, language, national origin and/or heritage Unit 3 - Communication · Cyanosis – Blue color to the lips due to decreased amount of oxygen in the blood · Extremities – arms or legs · Empathy – understanding another person’s feelings or emotions · Sympathy – Having the same feelings or another, able to enter into another person’s emotions · Objective Observation – A factual or measurable event such as a pulse rate or body sign · Subjective Observation – Statement made by the resident such as “I have a headache). (a symptom) · Sign (s) – Evidence of something abnormal occurring in the body which is observed by the nursing team through seeing, listening, touching or smelling Unit 4 – Safe and Clean Environment · Acute - · Contaminated – items or areas considered to have disease-causing organisms · Microorganism –tiny living bodies that cannot be seen with the naked eye; can only be seen with the microscope · Pathogen – disease causing microorganism; germ · Infection Control – practices which help to prevent the development and spread of disease · PPE – Personal Protective Equipment, such as gown, gloves or mask · Medical Asepsis – procedures used to prevent pathogens from spreading · Disinfect - Preventing infection by killing most bacteria. Disinfectants are solutions usually containing chlorine · Sterilization – removing or destroying all microorganisms on a surface · Sputum – mucus coughed up from the lungs · Standard Precautions – (formally called Universal Precautions) refers to infection prevention practices that apply to all residents, regardless of suspected or confirmed diagnosis or presumed infection status Unit 5 – Vital Signs and Measures · Bradycardia – pulse rate under 60 beats per minute (bpm) · BPM – Beats per minute · Tachycardia – Pulse rate over 100 beats per minute · Inspiration – breathing in air · Expiration – breathing out air · Dyspnea – difficulty breathing · Hypoxia – lack of oxygen in the body tissues · Hypertension – high blood pressure, higher than 140/90 · Hypotension – low blood pressure, lower than 90/60 Unit 6 – Personal Cares · Degeneration - · Dysphagia · Dysphasia · Pressure Ulcer / Debcubitus – any lesion cuased by unrelieved pressure that results in damage to the underlying tissues. Although friction and shear are not primary causes of pressure ulcers, friction and shearing are important contributing factors to the development of pressure ulcers. Lesions develop especially over areas where bones are close to skin surface with continuous pressure and lack of blood supply to the area · Shearing – force of the skin over the bone when the bone moves but the skin stays at point of contact Unit 7 – Activity and Exercise · Ambulate / Ambulatory – to walk or assist the resident to walk · Abduction – movement AWAY from the body · Adduction – movement towards the body · Atrophy – decrease in size and strength, also referred to as wasting · Geriatrics - · Flexion – to bend · Extension – to straighten · External rotation – to rotate the joint away or outward · Internal rotation – to rotate the joint inward · Hemiplegia – paralysis of one side of the body · Quadriplegia – paralysis of all four of the extremities and the trunk · Rehabilitation – a process in which the resident is assisted in reaching their highest level of ability physically, mentally and emotionally · Restorative Care – nursing care that is planned to promote resident’s health and regain as much of their independece as possible · Supine Position – body alignment position of resident lying on their back in bed Unit 8 – Food and Fluids · Aspiration – inhaling liquids into the lungs · CVA – Cerebral vascular accident (stroke) · Dysphagia – difficulty swallowing · Dehydration – lack of or insufficient water or fluid in the body · Intake – all liquids or fluids consumed · Output – liquids that leave the body Unit 9 - Elimination · Defecate – elimination of stool; also called a bowel movement · Emesis - vomiting · Fecal Impaction – hard, dry stool that becomes lodged in the intestine or rectum · Flatus – intestinal gas · Graduate – a container into which liquids can be poured. It has measurement numbers on the side · Incontinence – inability to control or retain urine or stool · Void – the act of eliminating urine; also called urination Unit 10 – Caring for Residents with Special Needs · Confusion – inability to distinguish or separate differences between things. There is an inability to follow directions · Delusion – false belief, i.e. a resident believes she is the queen of England · Dementia – progressive deterioration of mental function · Hallucination – seeing or hearing something that is not really there · Validation Therapy – the caregiver accepts values and beliefs of the resident with dementia, even though they may differ from reality Also know: Prone Trochantor Degeneration Dysphagia Dysphasia Category:Key terms